


Red Eyes

by Opalie



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions, Pokemon - Fandom, Pokemon Ranger
Genre: (ok yes in fact i don't remember much of x and y don't judge me), Canon Divergence, F/M, Genocide, Graphic Description of Corpses, Murder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-07 01:18:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18862816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opalie/pseuds/Opalie
Summary: Pokemon Rangers are people in charge of solving ecological issues, defeating and arresting criminals, and helping the citizens of their regions. Zola is a Ranger who has been assigned to a case of illegal Eevee breeding, which is more cruel than it seemsSet in the region of Kalos.





	1. Hot Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> FF made originally for the Pokefarm website, but they only allow PG content.

The desk was in a state of pure chaos, and with Zola’s boss ruffling around to find her mission folder, it was even worse. Papers were falling on the floor, CONFIDENTIAL in red stamped on it. The Pokémon ranger sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose. It wasn’t the first time she had to deal with him being disorganized, but with the current situation, it was too much for her to handle.  
She looked for it herself, finding it quickly, thank gods, opening it and closing it almost immediately.

“Ah, you found it. I should have told you that… yeah…” he barely said, looking at her losing all colors on her face  
“How can anyone do that?”  
“Well.” he began, coming to sit at his desk in a long sigh. “The guy is known to be… weird.” he said, moving his hands to try to make her understand to open the folder.  
“I am not opening that again.”  
“Just skip the photos, come on, we don’t have all day.” he ordered on an almost annoyed voice. “Anyway. Someone already saw him kick a pokémon or yell at them, nothing too bad at first. But then he opened a farm without a permit, and no one in the village really believe that he was fit to raise and sell pokémons. And they were right, as you saw.”

A genocide. The guy was at first only releasing pokémons in the wild, which was fine until the area was filled with eevees and people started complaining. Zola already went there once, asking him gently to not over-breed, but apparently he found another solution… if you could call that one. Murdering the poor things and letting them rot in plastic bags like trash. The image of the pictures came back to her mind, making her gag.  
Her boss lazily waved to make her focus on him again.

“You OK there?”  
“I’ll be fine.”  
“Good, act as soon as you can. I trust you are more than able to catch that monster. If you need someone to come with you, ask any of your coworker, really. Just, not a trainee or student. We don’t want them to see this part of the job, yet.”

She nodded, and he came back to his papers, letting her leave. She needed a coffee. Or ten. Not that she will be able to sleep tonight anyway. Going down the stairs, she slipped the pale green folder in her backpack, and went straight to her usual bar, not even telling anyone goodbye. In all honesty, she didn’t want anyone to see her in that state.  
Walking to the Lysandre Café, she tried to put herself in the shoes of that man, with little success. Even if she was on the verge of dying because of a lack of money, she would not kill anyone, or anything. Maybe there was something else she didn’t know? She opened the door to the red café, getting comfortable at the bar. At least she knew something here would try to get this issue out of her head for a little.

“Isn’t it my favorite lady?” the barman arrived, red suit, red glasses, red hair, pouring her some coffee. “You don’t look so good today, kitten.”  
“Could be much better.” she said as he was removing his apron, coming to sit next to her. “What are you doing?”  
“Takin’ a break. Tell everything to your future amazing boyfriend.”  
“Come on.” she laughed a little. “Just work stuff. A guy being an ass to some pokémons.”  
“Well, this is your everyday job, for you to look like you saw a corpse it must be much worse.” he said, installing a small silence between them. “Are you kidding me?”  
“I wish.” she said, trying to take a sip of her coffee but getting immediately stopped  
“I barely poured that, you don’t want to burn your tongue. Anyway. You have a partner to go at least? You’re not gonna go see a creep without any pokemon or other ranger, right?”

A new silence.

“Zola, come on!”  
“Listen! It’s more complicated than that. And I don’t want anyone to see the shit I just saw.”  
“Show me. I’m just the barman, come on.”  
“Ah so now you’re not the future boyfriend?”  
“Come ooon.” he whined.  
“Valentin, what are you doing?” arrived Lysandre himself, a pyroar-like tall man, making the red haired man stand up and go back to his job. “Good evening Zola.”

They exchanged the shortest polite conversation, as he went to the back door, leaving them rather quickly. Valentin waited a little before going back to his stool, his hand reaching out to her, asking to see the pictures. She gave him the folder, letting him carefully open it and have a look inside. She could not see his eyes through his shades, his face conveying little to no emotion, which was unusual for him. 

“Are you alright?”  
“Yeah!” he said smiling again, giving her back the folder, holding on tight on it when she was trying to take it. “Hope you get that asshole. Which I’m certain you will, kitten. Oh hey look who’s being all shy again.”

Valentin gave his arm to his green zubat who perched there, kind of hiding in her wings. It was something she was doing for some reasons, even with the ranger who was usually good with ‘difficult’ pokémons like violent wild pokémons, or extremely shy ones. She was also maybe being a drama queen. Pokémon often liked to take some… quirks of their trainers. It made her smile a little, and finally drink her coffee, feeling better.


	2. Cold bodies

Late in the night, or early in the morning, Zola decided to leave her bed to make herself some crappy off brand coffee at home, the kind of stuff that smelled bad but kicked your ass hard enough it would keep you awake for a while. She didn’t get any sleep, at all. She didn’t even change from her uniform, actually. She sighed and checked if she smelled like death, before snorting. Smelling like death…   
She made the laundry and breakfast, eating her toasts as she was making paperworks. She had asked for authorization from the local police the evening after her chat with her “future boyfriend”, to be able to legally enter the farm if he refused to open the door. She was only authorized if he didn’t respond at all though.   
She tapped her pen on the table as she was thinking. If she takes no one with her, no one will know if he responded to her or not. She really wanted to end that situation, in any way possible, even if it meant lying and destroying private property. Its wasn’t the first time she’d do it anyway. Her boss pretended not to be aware of her methods, even if he was, of course. They both knew she wasn’t the nice and good Ranger.   
That was probably one of the reasons he gave her this mission, and no one else. If he wanted the job done legally, he would give it to a trainee. Zola was quick, efficient, but maybe a bit brutal. She was a figure of respect in the barrack, and the youngest knew they could also count on her for any mission they had trouble with.   
She tidied up around her, took a clean uniform, and attached her Capture Styler on her belt. She hesitated to take a pokeball or two, just in case, but she left them on her desk, maybe for later.

Walking to go rent a bicycle, she saw two woman and a man dressed in red, like Valentin, chatting together, something that seemed very serious. She hesitated to go in the shop for a minute, to listen to what was going on, before noticing a policeman not too far. They nodded to each other with a slight smirk, and she left.  
Now riding to the farm, she started to think something was wrong about these guys. Team Flare. Talking a lot about peace and a better world, trainers trying to get some money in her opinion. Nothing to worry about until you hear them talk about their big idyllic dreams that involved robbing scientists and kids alike. Valentin was often avoiding the subject of his work. Because he wasn’t only a barman, she knew that much.   
The Ranger finally reached the farm quite easily, hiding her bike, you can never be too careful. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. There was no pokémon in the fields on the left of the building. It was extremely calm, too calm even.   
She waited for a bit, before trying to enter the farm. Locked. Frowning, she went to look for a wild pokemon, something of the fighting type maybe? That door was closed for a very ‘good’ reason, after all. She found a Lucario quite far from the farm, in fact, she found no pokémon at all even near the farm. And that one was in a really bad mood. He immediately growled at her, readying himself to fight.   
She stood back a little, and opened her hands toward him, still ready to take her Capture Styler if needed.

“Sorry if I scared you, I’m a ranger, I’m here to help. Something is wrong with the human there, and I need to stop him. Can you help me?”

He looked at her for a bit before nodding, following her hesitant. She couldn’t blame him, if pokémon can smell death and danger, this place was probably the worst for him right now. He kicked the door open, allowing light in the house. It smelled horrible. Like rotten meat and burnt wood.   
Zola tried very hard not to vomit as she was placing her arm in front of her to hope to stop the smell, but nothing was harder than to actually go inside the house. The Lucario looked at her again, waiting, expecting her to go in first. He gestured his head toward the entry, becoming impatient. She patted his head with her other hand, taking her flashlight to be able to see anything.  
As she clicked on the button, she removed her arm from her face. He was there. On the floor.  
He was dead. Shot, most probably. The pokémon didn’t look, visibly upset by the sight. She came closer to check his pulse, but with the amount of blood on the floor, there was no way he wasn’t just a corpse. She hear ruffling at the door. She stood up again and ran out as fast as she could

“Stop right there! You’re making your situation worse by running away!” she yelled, before noticing the uniform he was wearing.

No way. There was no way someone from the team flare would murder anyone, right? Their goal was world peace. He took her bike and ran away with it (so much for hiding it…), making her take her phone.

“Boss, I need reinforcement on route 22.” she said as she saw the Lucario run for the guy.  
“Good morning to you too, Zola. What can I do for you?”  
“A guy from team Flare murdered the farmer, shot him around 3 times, I think. I didn’t hear anything being fired. I saw no eevee or pokémon whatsoever either, so I’m going back inside. Oh, he is also on a rented bike, and a Lucario is probably running after him.”  
“Straight up killed him, uh.” he continued, sounding like he totally ignored the second part. “Do you have any other info? Did he talk?”  
“Not at all sir.”  
“Well, that’s weird. No one but us and the police actually knew about this guy. Or maybe it’s a resident of the village as well, after all the didn’t like him much. I’ll get someone to investigate about it, you go try to save these poor things, if they are still alive.”

He hung up.


	3. Freezing Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: This chapter contains quite a bit of gruesome scenes.

The police’s sirens made echo in the farm, making it a bit harder for Zola to hear anything. She was actually scared it wasn’t the Team Flare guy the person who murdered the farmer. That the real murderer was still here, creeping in the shadows. She didn’t allow herself to open any curtain either, afraid to touch any evidence of the crime.   
Walking on the sticky wooden floor, she made sure to be as silent as she could, keeping herself near walls. So far, only the carnal smell of blood and rotten flesh was filling the air, but it also meant there was more corpses somewhere. And for the first time in her life, she wished it was pokémons. She never truly thought about it before, human death. She wasn’t a policeman, her job was to protect pokémons, not humans. She never actually saw a dead person before today. And she hated it.

The light of her torch rested on a trapdoor, where she could see brown fur stuck on some nails. She gagged. Why did it become so hard all the sudden? She was ready for it, right? To see these poor things like on the pictures. In pieces to fit as many a possible in the trash bags.  
She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself, but it only made the smell of death more powerful in her nose. She cursed and opened the door, hearing eevees yelp at her. They were alive! There was still some alive. Feeling like crying, she jumped the ladder, and made sure it was only eevees in here, before checking on them. They were all in “pokémon proof” cages, sold on the black market by the Team Rocket most of the time, a majority of them were alive (probably dehydrated and starving), but there sadly was decaying corpses along them.  
Needless to say, they all looked traumatized, yelling to get out. She opened all cages, asking them to stay here for her to check them, which they did, stopping the cries as well. She noticed a glow in the other room, where the door was close shut by a metal bar and some kind of rusty weird lock system. She lifted the plate with pain, letting it drop on the floor loudly.   
The knob was warm. A shiver went down her spine. She shouldn’t go there, if it’s not needed.  
Scratching. Someone or something was scratching their nails on something. She should definitely go.  
Zola took a step back and kicked the door open, destroying the lock along with it. A young woman was here, crying, attached to the wall and gagged near a furnace. She didn’t look harmed, but she was scared for sure. The Ranger removed all ropes around her, checking her state at the same time like she did for the pokémons.

“Thank you, thank you so much, I- I heard a gun, I was so scared!”  
“It’s over now.” she said, rubbing her shoulder. “How long have you been there? What’s your name?”  
“Anita! I own this farm, and the land around. This guy, he came one day and… asked me if he could stay. I said yes, but I saw him forcing pokémons to breed together! Experimenting on them like some kind of monster! When I told him to stop, he just- he just…”  
“It’s alright, don’t worry Anita. We’re getting out of there.”  
“He burned them here.” she said as she was getting up, her legs shaking, tears rolling on her face. “The eevees. I don’t know why he was doing that. He… he bred them and burned the babies. Or… or…”

Zola quickly peered at the furnace, noticing bones inside. She looked at the girl, before being interrupted by the scratching noise

“You weren’t the one scratching.”  
“My hands were tied up, so no…”

The Ranger went back to the other room, letting the younger one follow her. So it was not behind the door, but in the floor. She looked for anything that could pry the wooden planks at their feet, the girl giving her a crowbar. After trying a few times trying, the wood finally gave up, opening on a white eevee. 

“This is not a shiny eevee.” the farmer girl said, lifting the cage to help Zola free him.  
“What is it then?”  
“An albino. They have these purple-ish eyes, and a very white fur.” she said, handling the thing that looked really upset  
“I thought albinos had red eyes. Anyway, let’s go, I have enough of this place.”

Nodding, she put down the eevee and climbed the ladder with difficulty. Zola handled her each eevee to evacuate, leaving the albino boy being the last one. She tried to take him, making him step back with a pout. She really needed to get out of here. She tried again, making him this time jump on her arm to go on her shoulder, sighing, content. Rolling her eyes, she left the building as well, all eevees running around outside, as nothing happened.

“Ranger Zola!” arrived an officer Jenny, quite pale herself. “Are you doing alright?”  
“I am, thank you. I think the lady here was the only one in the house. I’ll go make my report and send you a copy.”  
“Let us take care of the rest, thank you for your help. Can we meet tomorrow, since you officially are a witness?”  
“Sure, I’ll see you then.”

They didn’t say goodbye to each other. Zola wanted to leave. Now. She remembered she had no way to go back home, sighing to herself. Why would he steal her bike?! How did he even know it was there? Did he saw her coming?

“Need a ride?” smiled Jenny after noticing the ranger’s face  
“Can you drop me by the Lysandre Café? I have to ask something to a friend.”  
“Isn’t that the Team’s Flare favorite hangout?”

She didn’t respond, and got in the car.


	4. Vague Clues

Valentin scratched his neck, his skin burning because of the sun, looking at the opposite side of the farm.

“Someone shoot from the air.” he said, pointing at an angle. “The holes in the curtains and window makes it look like it could be a sniper. But we can’t fly, right? So the person was on a pokémon.”  
“Let’s try to look for any hint on which kind of pokémon then, there might be feathers around boys.” said Charles, the head of the police, letting the other policemen look around. “Valentin, you come with me inside.”

Following him, the red haired man removed his sunglasses once inside in the dark farm, going to the curtains again, checking if his angle was right a second time.

“Have you seen that girl’s pokémon?”  
“The ranger? Was too busy hiding. I really don’t want to ruin my cover, she was the girl I told you about yesterday.”  
“Your girlfriend.”  
“Sadly not until this case is over, never want to date someone while you’re undercover boss. Can’t really lie right in the beginning of a relationship”  
“She had a white eevee with light purple eyes, on her shoulder. An albino one.”  
“I’m getting replaced!” he said dramatically. “I should be the only albino in her life.” he whined  
“Shut up and work harder. It stinks in here.”

He left out a small sigh, actually upset. Not because of being scolded or the eevee, but because he knew that she would go through hell for a while. The first time he saw a body was horrible. Weeks without sleep, mood swings, almost ruining his career as a cop. He knew what it would feel like. She was a very empathetic lady as well behind that sarcasm, and he couldn’t help but worry. And feel like garbage because he knew she’d immediately think he betrayed her confidence.   
Actually he was also upset about the eevee. 

“Come and have a look.” said his boss waving at him.

The light of the camera flashed to take the picture, making him hide his eyes immediately, sighing.

“You’re gonna make me blind one day Charles. I have photophobia! I hate pictures!”  
“Would you kindly shut up. There are four bullets. They were not shot. I can’t find any gun around.”  
“So our guy was expecting something to come after his butt.” he said, taking one and measuring it  
“Who wouldn’t when you kill babies for a living.”  
“That’s where you’re wrong, I mean if you are a sociopath just having fun why would you be scared of anything? I don’t think he had some paranoia going on.”  
“You think someone was already trying to get him before coming here?”  
“The farmer girl said he was panicked when he asked her to stay over.”

Valentin let his hand rest on his mouth, looking around to find any other clue. Let’s say that guy knew he was being targeted. The bullets looked like it belonged to a handgun, probably small. So he probably met the murderer. And if the gun is missing…  
He went immediately to the two opposite sides of the crime scene, lifting the gun victorious, containing the 5 other bullets.

“Does our guy got anything on his wrist? Sign of any fight?”  
“Nope.”  
“Then he threw it on purpose. He was where you are, charging the gun.” he said, letting Charles recreate the scene with him. “He has been asked to throw it away. Not from outside.”  
“Why?”  
“The girl didn’t hear him talk with anyone. Or. The window was open. Which seems unlikely, since it’s broken.”  
“Two guys then, one inside, one out: the one who shot him.”  
“We’re not making a lot of progress honestly, I think we’re going too far.” he told his boss who got up from his spot, almost upset to stop acting. “We should wait for Zola’s deposition and the scientists do their job about the body and fingerprints.”  
“Sure. You’ll be on the case then.”  
“Oh thanks!”

Hold on a second.

“Why are you putting me on another case?!” he almost yelled at Charles who just looked at him bored  
“You’re the one who came here, you knew I’d give it to you. Oh don’t fucking tell me it was to check on your girl.”  
“Yes- no! Both. I kind of wanted to see the place actually. But I really should get back at the café, I’m still in my uniform.” he said, pulling on it. He really liked that shade of red. “I got Sycamore at the café today.”  
“Gonna try to see if he’s involved?”  
“You bet.”

Sycamore was actually the most important person around Lysandre, and not a member of Team Flare. But it didn’t mean he wasn’t manipulated by his ‘friend’ to work for him.   
Now that he was thinking about it, what was that team flare guy also doing on the crime scene? Something was wrong. They were too much of a coward to kill anyone, at least the vast majority. Or he was here to spy on someone.  
The fucker was spying on Zola. He cursed out loud. Of course he’d know where her bike was, and that she was on the eevee case. He tapped his fingers on the wheel, trying to think and drive at the same time, containing his anger. What was Lysandre trying to do? She isn’t a threat to team flare at all, as a Ranger she is supposed to stay in neutral grounds, even.  
As soon as he arrived, he went straight to discreetly look inside the bar, the professor actually there, chatting with her. Well that was good at least, he was a bit too innocent but not stupid and actually a decent trainer. Speaking of. He took his pokéball out, his zubat posing herself on his shoulder.

“I need you to check on Zola. Someone’s following her, and I don’t like that. I know I can trust you princess.”

She made an agreeing sound, letting him open the window to fly back out, perching herself on the roof in front of the café, now waiting for her to come out.  
Valentin put on his apron, checking his appearance, and took place behind the bar.

“If it isn’t the professor and my favorite girl!”


	5. Pretty lies

She didn’t even touch her coffee, now cold. She glared at him with an expression he had a hard time to describe. But then, she was probably confused and angry. He kept his usual smile, taking the cold coffee she barely touched to make her a new hot and fresh one.

“It’s not usual for you to be late!” said Sycamore petting the eevee of Zola, still on her shoulder.  
“Got caught in traffic. By the way, who’s that little guy? Guess you rescued him from your mission today?”  
“Yeah. He decided to follow me around.” she said, very uninterested   
“It’s normal, it’s very often for shiny and albino pokemons to prefer human company, as they feel very different from their peers.”

Well that was a bit relatable. He did as a kid shut himself from other people, only hanging out with his mom’s pokémons until he had his own. Being called a freak in school was not the best, and with his bad sight, he was mocked for bumping into everything, fun times. He didn’t talk about any of this, serving a new coffee to Zola, who barely looked at him.  
He didn’t know what to put as a priority. Taking info from the professor or going to have a chat with her, to be able to cheer her up a little, or at least show her she had someone she could count on? He knew his job should come first, especially with how important it became overtime. He cursed himself, for having to choose a mission over someone he liked. Again.

“Taking about human company!” he said as he was taking Sycamore’s empty cup, making him a new one. “How’s life at home with the boyfriend?”  
“Inexistent.” he said almost pouting. “I came here in hope to see him, but you know. Work. Lysandre doesn’t even come home at all anymore. You must see him more than I do!”  
“Oh. Geez I didn’t know, sorry man.”  
“Don’t worry, really. I knew when we decided to start dating, but it’s going in the extremes right now. I would really like to have a chat with him you know?”  
“If I didn’t come spend all my money on coffee I wouldn’t see Valentin either honestly.” Zola said, drinking a bit of coffee. Was she feeling better?  
“You guys are finally dating each other? Finally!”   
“No, not yet.” she responded, making him tap gently his the top of his hands on the counter. He knew he was smiling like an idiot but honestly, why bother hiding it. “I want to have more time for myself first. I am considering leaving the rangers here. I love my job, really. But I really can’t take it with my boss anymore.”  
“You could just try to work with the police you know, they hire Rangers quite often now.” immediately responded Valentin, after all, he was the head of his own team, he could hire anyone he wanted. “What’s up with him?”  
“He puts all the hard work on me. At first I thought it was nice to be relied on you know. But today was so, so hard…” she said, burying her face in her hands as she was sighing. “I need a break I think. And he doesn’t give breaks.”  
“Y’know that illegal right?” he asked before noticing he was not doing his job at all but trying to cheer her up. Shit.  
“Of course, what do you want me to do? Ask my Human Resources about it? We don’t have one. Quitting doesn’t make me too sad, don’t worry.” the ranger sighed, now petting the pokémon on her shoulder, scratching his chin.   
“You should still ask Chief Charles, he’s really nice. Tell him about your situation, I’m sure he could help you kitten.” he said, making her shrug and drink a little. “In any case! Do you know what boss is working on, professor?” 

He shook his head, thinking about it. Valentin was almost certain he was lying. There was no way Lysandre wouldn’t include him in his world reset project. He loved him, it was more than certain. Who would murder someone they love? Hold on on that thought. The guy at the farm. What if he let in someone related to him? A sibling, a parent. Some he trusted. Their alibi would be to stop him from his madness. By killing him on a last resort, maybe.

“Oh dear, it’s already very late, and I guess I won’t have lunch with Lysandre either.” he said, making Valentin check his watch. Noon already? He wasn’t late, he skipped his entire morning shift! “I will see you later you two lovebirds!”

He waved at him, Zola only nodding as he was leaving. She looked at her coffee, taking a sip of it before sighing.

“Can we talk?”  
“Always kitten. Do you mind if we talk outside though?”  
“No, of course not.”

He left quickly to go ask another grunt to take his place, making the guy sigh loudly and taking the apron. Coming back, she had emptied her coffee, opening the door for him. Once outside, he looked for somewhere more intimate behind the bar, a bit too worried about people listening to them. He checked for Printemps, who was perched nearby, not looking too worried.  
Letting himself rest on the wall, he crossed his arms, a bit nervous actually. They never really had any time only the both of them alone before. The ranger walked in front of him, feeling somehow a bit too close.

“Did you talk about my mission to anyone?”

True, she was still mad. Right. He uncrossed his arms, feeling a bit tense. How could he turn that without making her mad? She violently grabbed him by the tie, tackling him on the floor, pulling on the material choking him. Oh gods she was not joking around.

“Did you. Talk about my mission. To anyone?” she asked slowly, making him realize that he really underestimated her in general  
“Yes! Yes! Mercy!”  
“Make it quick.” she said, letting him go, bumping his head on the concrete.  
“Hold on.” he asked panting, showing her the police badge on his shirt. “Here. Woah! I didn’t know rangers were so strong, you really caught me by surprise here kitten.” he said after massaging his neck

She stared at him for a moment, bright red in embarrassment before noticing that both their position was quite uncomfortable and weird, standing up fast. He stood up as well and noticed his cheeks burning, and not because of the lack of air. When did he become into women pinning him? 

“You’re from the police?”  
“Yeah! Yeah. I wasn’t supposed to tell you yet, but, yeah.” he said, still catching his breath. “I have more or less to tell my boss about anything anyone tell me at the bar. So I did talk about your mission.”  
“You idiot you should have told me before I tried to hurt you! You know I’m violent you-”  
“Relax kitten. I’m fine. I’m more than fine. In any case, we do need to talk. There is something important I need to tell you.”


	6. Chapter 6

“You know… I really wanted you to ask me to become a member of Team Flare at some point.”

Lowering the sound of the radio, he quickly glanced at her, a bit too focused on the road. For once he’d have liked to be able to do two things at a time. Was she blushing? He really wanted to see her blush. Because he was blushing.

“Come again?”  
“I just thought that you were very cute and I really wanted to like, be pretty enough for you. Because you know. They only take beautiful people and stuff.”  
“Trust me, you’d have been a member as soon as we met if I had been one. But, I’m a cop and instead you’re getting to be my pretty partner.”  
“Sounds good to me,” she said sighing, pausing a little. “I thought I’d be much more… sick. Sad. Angry. But, I just feel good to know I’m going to find out what happened to that guy instead.”  
“You’re a very strong lady that’s for sure. I was a mess after the first time I was in a situation like that.”  
“Here, I have the opportunity to like… come at peace with it. Investigating what happened. I guess it’s a bit different.”  
“Nope, still super gorey and traumatizing,” he said making her chuckle.  
“And I have a great friend as well who’s helping me deal with it. Sorry. A boyfriend.”  
“I’m your boyfriend!” He repeated in excitement, tapping on the wheel. “But yeah, okay, it was very different for me. Still. You’re really doing well.”

The eevee on her lap yawned loudly, making him sigh. He had been so jealous since yesterday. Right after he told her truth in the back alley of the bar, they decided to have a chat in a more intimate place together. It started as a conversation for more details. Until it ended up on the couch, then in bed.  
His boss called him later on, asking to meet her in the police station. That was where they were headed now. Once out of the car and in the building, she lost her smile, or perhaps took a more serious appearance, straightening her back as Charles arrived. He gently squeezed Valentin’s shoulder, making him frown confused

“You should have told me it was the ranger from the other day son. Nice to meet you personally Zola; this goof here talked a lot about you.”  
“Happy to work with you today sir.”  
“Call me Charles, no need for formalities, not here at least. You’re doing alright?”  
“You don’t need to worry for me. I am more than fine, really.”

 

He raised an eyebrow looking at the red haired policeman who just smiled, happy from showing off his cool girlfriend, somehow. He took him away from the group, asking more about her mental state. They reached the conclusion that it was not threatening for her to work on the case before giving her a tag with her name and the “authorized access to crime scene” and a number.  
Valentin’s small team arrived, introducing themselves to Zola cheerfully and getting to work. Apparently, they did find some trace of a Pokemon, not feathers, but prints in the ground. The person who shot was apparently on a Aurorus, which wouldn’t be too hard to track down. Sophie was already on it, a little woman with big round glasses and who could probably poison you simply with her stinging glare.  
They also found the missing bullets left behind by the sniper. Together they reached a conclusion, showing the papers to Valentin.

“Basically, the two people responsible had planned this out with care,” began Sophie. “The Pokemon was a misdirection. These fools were hoping to confuse us; blur their identity from our watchful eyes. An idiotic idea, since we have archives of all owned Pokémon now. Criminals are often overthinking things, except the details that actually matter... The person inside was a woman around 30 years old, working nearby. We found fiber or some uniform in the buildings next doors.”  
“That was really stupid to come murder someone in a uniform,” Valentin commented, raising an eyebrow  
“It was her sister, we think, Isabella. She has no record of even being violent, and we didn’t find any trace of her on him. She’s waiting in a room to be interrogated, boss.”  
“Sweet, I’ll get to that. She got anyone with her?”  
“A Kadabra; he’s in the room next to her. Oh, so you hired a ranger for that? Smart, coming from you,” she said sighing. “Or...did she propose herself?”  
“What- no! She’s part of the team now! No bullying me!”  
“Sure thing.” Sophie smiled, a smirk he knew too well on her face. “Anyway, I’ll show her around. Have fun, boss.”

At least he has been right about the familiar detail. It was the people close to him that took from his life. He changed into his actual work uniform, and went to the interrogation room. A very tall lady with long blond hair sat inside, very tense and jumpy. She didn’t need to say anything. Her body language said more than her words probably would.

“Hi there, I’m officer Valentin Edward Fox; nice to meet you. Hope I didn’t make you wait for too long.”  
“N-no it’s fine. I-I’m Isabella Abrad. You have…. two last names?”  
“Oh yeah, my mom’s Edward, and my dad was Fox. She gave me both when my dad’s died.”  
“O-oh I’m sorry for you loss.”  
“Nah, he was an asshole. Less people like him the better,” he lied, shuffling aimlessly in the papers. “Don’t you think so, Isabella?”

She shrugged, playing with a loose thread on the shoulder on her gray vest. 

“Why were you in the Route 22’s farm around 5:45 AM on Friday morning, by the way? Seems awfully early to meet anyone.”  
“He… sent me a letter the day before, asking to meet him. H-he was very violent and tried to take my Kadabra from me.”  
“Did he hit you?”  
“Yes.”  
“Where?”  
“O-on my arm. Nothing too bad…”  
“Can you remove your vest and show me your arm please.” he asked while not looking directly at her. The need for sunglasses was sometimes a blessing for his job.

Standing up, he noticed she had a stain on her skirt neat the belt, something quite dark. Oil perhaps. At least at first it would seem that way. A closer look would reveal its true nature. It was coal. Her hands were also shaking. Something made him believe she wasn’t tense because she was the culprit. 

“Here.” she almost murmured, showing the bruise.  
“Mind to go see our scientist right after? Just to take a picture of it. It’s important that we keep record of everything that happened in order to advance in this case.”  
“O-of course not.”  
“In any case- you can sit down again, sorry.” He paused as she set herself down. “In any case, there was someone with you outside.”  
“Yes, my Kadabra,” she said with reckless haste.  
“I see. Do you have any other Pokémon?”  
“N-no. I’m sorry…”  
“No need to be, really. I’ll let you go see my colleague outside now; I got everything I needed.”  
“A-am I… Did I kill him, you think?”

He opened the door to her, frowning at the question. What kind of people would ask that? She did look confused and tense as well, but… Something felt very wrong. He didn’t respond, only smiling to her, before seeing Zola waving at him from his office. She wasn’t looking too good either.

“What’s going on with her Pokémon?” He asked upon closing the door of his office behind himself.  
“He’s not sane,” she said. The statement made him blink  
“He’s not what? It’s a Pokémon!”  
“They can also have mental illnesses, you know.. And, I can tell you this one is of a dangerous sort. He tried to use his telepathic power on Eevee. Thankfully, he was quick enough to reflect it,” she said as she was petting him. “I think he likes to mind control a bit too much.”  
“Do you think he could command a man to murder another?”  
“I had the same thought. I don’t know what was said on your side, but I’m pretty sure with how shaky and fragile this little lady seems, she isn’t much of a threat.”  
“She looks very confused, actually. I don’t think she did anything… she wasn’t certain of it, though.”

They both looked and each other, making him feel fuzzy inside. She was so very beautiful and professional; such things made him smitten with her. She chuckled, breaking him from his trance. He collected his thoughts in a nod, and joined the others. 

The Kadabra was still in the quarantaine room, looking at them walk past him through the glass door. His trainer waiting on a chair nearby, biting her nails, and on the verge of crying. She didn’t seem to know why she was there. He didn’t even touch the knob of the door before going back to her quickly, a question burning his tongue. 

“Isabella, can I ask you a question?”  
“O-of course officer.”  
“Do you go along with your Kadabra?” He asked. She cast her gaze away from him.  
“Did he ever harm you in any, miss?” The ranger asked in a gentle voice as they reached them. This was her breaking point; at last her tears came, and she began to sob.  
“No one would believe me! No one! Pokémon don’t hit their trainers! Pokémon don’t manipulate their minds! He made my little brother crazy! He made me and my husband do things to him! I loved my brother; he was everything to me! I don’t even know if I killed him! I can’t remember! Please, do something, help me! Please!..” She begged as she was holding onto Zola, who decided to hug her instead.  
“I believe you. I do. We’re going to take care of him, okay? Do you have his pokéball on you?”  
“N-no. He doesn’t let me touch it. It’s at home, hidden away.”  
“We will take care of it,” Valentin finally said, making his girlfriend nod and almost dragging her away.  
“Where are we going?”  
“Outside, let’s have a break. You don’t need to stay with him anymore. What’s your favorite Pokémon, by the way?” she asked in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere, and calm the woman’s rattled nerves.  
Her talents, her control of the situation. It wasn’t fair to Valentin. Zola, such a beautiful figure of authority, was good with both people and Pokémon. He laughed to himself a little, almost glad the psychic pokémon was stuck in the power-proof room. What secrets he would reveal..and danger, of course.

His thoughts weren’t entirely consumed by his love for the confident ranger, however. He noticed that her Eevee was missing from the home it made on her shoulder. He was elsewhere, with something in his mouth. A pokeball...a curious thing for an eevee for sure. He attempted to follow.

“Boss, what are you doing?” Sophie asked, putting her hand on his shoulder to stop him from following the eevee  
“Nothing?” He said trying to look innocent  
“We need you and the Ranger in the meeting room now! Where is she anyway? Did she already dump you?”  
“How rude of you! She went outside. Also, do not release that Kadabra. He’s not alright in his head. Pretty sure he’s the source of all our problems so far. I just need to figure out who that Aurorus belong to.”  
“Actually I know that, it belongs to her son, Jeremy. Same size of footprint, etc. Do you think he mentally manipulated them to kill a man? Really boss?”  
“Investigate it. Surprise me!”

She looked at him with that dismissive stare she actually often had, before leaving. Valentin looked at the Pokémon, hands in his pocket, quite happy. He always was when they were finally done with a case. And catching the scum of the earth was his favorite thing to do. It was the first time it was pokémon for him, but counted it nevertheless. He just hoped that was right to trust that lady, and Zola’s judgement.  
Now where was that finger biting menace, stealing pokéballs from who know where? That was his question now.

~~~

“I can’t believe a bunch of kids took care of Lysandre and Team Flare. It’s so unfair! I worked so so hard!” Whined Valentin, grabbing his second beer from the fridge. “And that guy Lysandre, oh my god, he was ready to kill his own boyfriend! What kind of heartless person do you have to be?!”  
“Eooon,” responded the white Espeon, yawning on his shoulder.  
“You’re not listening to me are you?”  
“I am, you’re madman,” laughed Zola on the couch as she ate the popcorn he left in his bowl. “You should be happy it’s over. I am. I couldn’t bear to know that poor lady from a few months ago was abused. By her own pokémon, no less.”  
“Doesn’t stop you anymore from stealing my food, you thief! Worse than this little asshole.”  
“Don’t call him like that, especially when he’s on your shoulders and not his trainer’s. Isn’t it right, Coeur Noble?”

The Pokémon just ignored her, looking at the beer to avoid her eyes. It has been a weird day, after that whole Kadabra thing. The eevee almost harassed her to put him in a pokéball, and when she finally obliged, he evolved into espeon. It was quite frightening after knowing that a psychic Pokémon was capable of commanding a man like a puppet. To murder those who who cross it, no less.  
The worse thought in all of that Kadabra murder case is that it couldn’t talk. It would never say why. What it’s motives were, and what pushed those motives upon it. Why would it think it was a good idea in the first place? What did he think when he forced his trainer to burn all her pokémons? Why would he betray people who loved him? Was it to find freedom in making people suffer at will? Humans would do that. Why not Pokémons? If only there was more research on Pokemon psychology, he wished.  
If they weren’t scorned by the reality of it, this case would make a great movie. With a bit more drama going on, it could be quite nice to watch. He came back on the couch and let his Mightyena climb on him, her head resting on Zola’s lap.

“You looked better in red.” she said as she was petting the almost purring black pokemon  
“I know, but I’m no evil mastermind, sorry. I dress in blue only.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A HUGE thank you to anyone who is reading this. This FF is quite important for me, and I am quite proud of it, so I can only thank you for giving it your time.  
> A bigger even thank to red-cavalier on tumblr for beta reading this chapter. It was kind of hard to write and she was there to support me from chapter 1. You're the best RC.
> 
> If you can comment on the why you liked or disliked it, I'd love to hear it! I maybe plan to make some smaller side stories, as I got very attached to this little duo.


End file.
